The Telltale Bump
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 26 - Quinn's starting to show... which is a problem...


_So the hiatus is over, I did my twenty-one ficlets and all... but I didn't want to stop ;) So I'm not! I want to see how long I can keep this up, one every day, so off we go :)_

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**"The Telltale Bump"  
Quinn + Parents**

"Quinn, sweetheart, your father's on his way, are you ready to go?" her mother's voice came from outside her closed door.

The moment she'd heard the knock at her door, a rush of cold from head to toe froze her in place, standing at her closet.

If her mother had opened the door, she would have found her standing among the discarded clothes she'd tried on, which was just about the entire content of her closet.

It was the moment she'd been dreading all along, finally come to pass… tightness, growth…

She'd been feeling that her body was changing, for the last little while, but she could still wear her regular clothes just fine. The last few days, it had grown harder. Now on that afternoon, her stomach had decided to just throw in the towel and declare itself a pregnant belly. She'd stood there, completely baffled by herself.

It wasn't as though she didn't know it was coming, growing nearer every day… and until it did, she didn't have to think about it too hard. But now, there it was…

No matter what she'd put on, it was there, like a spotlight was brought down over her. With each new outfit she put on and had to take off once she'd see they didn't mask the starting bump… with each of those, she grew more frantic, more frustrated, to the point where she was on the verge of tears.

At her mother's knock, her question, Quinn took a deep breath then another, needing to give her voice a moment to separate itself from the tears, so it didn't tremble.

"I'm working on it," she finally spoke. She held her breath, waiting and hoping her mother would leave it at that and just walk away.

"Are you okay?" She looked down at herself, rather than the door.

"I'm fine," she hoped she sounded it.

"Alright. Just don't take too long." She heard her walk away.

"Right…" she spoke to herself.

She couldn't let herself crumble, not now. She and her parents were going to a party and it would be expected of her to make a good impression. She'd just have to keep trying on the clothes and hope she'd find something that would manage to hide away the bump.

The next one would work, it had to, it… If possible, it was the one who showed it the most. The tears, which had kept themselves just at the edge of her eyes up until then, finally came in full force and she came to sit on the ground among all the clothes that didn't work.

She needed the cry, needed to let all of it out now, when she was just on her own… or as close to alone as she would be until her baby was born.

After two minutes went by, she felt calmer. She wiped the tears away and got back on her feet. She took off the latest attempt at proper attire, dropping it among previous attempts. Running a hand through her hair, she looked back into her closet, what was left of it.

At last, the universe gave her a break. She found a dress which, in the manner it was made, went a long way in helping hide the bump. After picking up the clothes, she stood in front of her mirror, moving side to side, testing whether she could see anything.

She was still testing the dress when the next knock came. Her hands dropped to her sides as she looked to the door. She looked to the mirror one more time… she'd have to let her see her eventually… she might as well get on with it.

"Come in, mom," she spoke, reaching for the gold chain on which her cross hung. She looked back when the door opened… "Dad…" she blinked in surprise. Her fingers shuddered and the chain slipped to the ground.

"Here," he moved to retrieve it. Quinn wasn't sure how to stand, having him so close to her midsection while he crouched to grab the chain. When he stood back up, she let out a breath slowly. As he moved behind her to put the chain on her, she lifted her hair. She couldn't figure out what to do, if she should speak… could speak…

When she felt the cross settle against her throat, she let go of her hair, pulled the chain straight. "Thanks," she managed to speak, turning to face him, minding her posture.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded. "Good." He looked down to her dress… she held her breath. "You look beautiful, sweetheart," he smiled.

"Thanks, dad," she managed a smile. "I'm almost ready," she looked up at him.

"Okay. We'll be in the car," he told her before moving out of the room.

Relief flooded over her for a moment, having gotten by her father unnoticed. It was only one hurdle though… there was still the party… and then the months after… She definitely had to deal with this clothing issue.

She got her shoes on, finished getting ready, and then she joined her parents and they were off to the party. Once they arrived, Quinn realized how stressful the evening would be. There were plenty of people… plenty of potential bump spotters.

Once they had greeted their hosts, she broke away from her parents, moving to stand near the buffet table… she was hungry anyway. She spent the next hour or so nibbling at veggies and finger sandwiches. The revelation of the evening were the little meat balls. Her toothpicks piled up in her hand.

"You'll leave some for the others, yes?" she looked back, finding her father there. She looked down to the toothpicks in her hand. She put them down on the table, wiping her hands on a napkin. "Look," he nodded behind her shoulder and she looked. There were people dancing. "I've already taken your mother for a spin, now I need to take my other girl around. What do you say?" he offered his arm.

Quinn looked at his hand. They always had their dance, at whatever party they attended, ever since she was little. She remembered the days she'd dance on his feet… this could be the last time he'd dance with her.

But she couldn't help thinking… if he held her too close… he'd feel it, he'd know… No dress would keep the bump undiscovered when it came to contact. She looked down for a moment, using a smile to disguise her efforts to go on thinking.

The toothpicks…

She looked back to her father. "Just… be careful, okay? I had a lot to eat," she nodded to the table with a coy smirk. He laughed, extending his hand again.

"I'll be very careful," he bowed his head. Quinn gave her hand and a smile. For the next few minutes, she'd get to be daddy's girl, unconcerned with anything else.

THE END


End file.
